Temperature Dependence of Electrical Properties of NiO Thin Films for Resistive Random Access Memory

Abstract

AbstractTemperature dependence of electrical properties in NiO thin films for ReRAM applications has been investigated. I-V measurements have been carried out in the temperature range from 100K to 523K. The resistance in the high resistance state (HRS) is almost independent of temperature below 250K, whereas it decreases with an activation energy of 300 meV above 250K. Hopping conduction and band conduction may be dominant in the low- and high-temperature range, respectively. Admittance spectroscopy on the NiO/n+-Si structure¡¡reveals the existence of a high density of traps, which may contribute to the conduction in HRS. In the low resistance state (LRS), however, the resistance slightly increased in the whole temperature range and the trend is similar to that of metallic Ni film, indicating the metallic Ni defects is related to the conduction in LRS. The Pt/NiO/Pt structure demonstrated stable resistance switching even at temperature as high as 250°C or higher. Since other competitive nonvolatile memories will face severe difficulty in high-temperature operation, the present ReRAM shows promise for high-temperature application.